Tuesday, 24 July 2012

The Olympic Games are just 2 days away. I can say I'm really excited to follow all the action.

But have always asked this question: When bids are requested from cities to host future Olympic games, there is never a shortage of municipalities vying to welcome the world's athletes. The games bring prestige, but do they bring financial benefits as well?

´

No one doubts the fact that hosting the Olympic Games allows a city to be in spotlight of world attention for two weeks, or longer if the build-up is included. Less certain, however, is whether all that attention and elevated stature is matched by an equivalent economic boost for the region or even the country, or if in many cases the Olympics bring lots of cachet, but little cash.

One thing is clear, in the often heady days preparing for the games and then watching athletes run, jump, swim and perform feats seemingly beyond the abilities of mere mortals, the financial consequences of all that work and capital put into hosting the event appear worth it.

There are direct economic advantages to the Olympics while the games are on: tax receipts go up, visitor numbers rise and then there is the simple fact that cities get to show themselves off. But whether those benefits continue after the athletes have packed up their medals and tourists have packed their bags is less certain. The Olympics' financial record is mixed.

One thing that everyone can agree on is that hosting the Olympics costs a lot and it's getting more expensive all the time. For the games in Greece, operating costs have soared from €500 million to €2 billion. The total cost of Olympic spending is estimated to approach €10 billion. However, there was little research into the wider economic impact of the Olympics until Montreal emerged from the 1976 games with a gaping deficit of €1 billion, an amount local residents are still paying off through a supplementary tax on tobacco. Those games were funded almost entirely through public city funds, and the large amounts of money spent on infrastructure improvements and facilities construction were focused on a relatively small part of the city. Montreal 1976 is widely held up as the example not to follow, and it caused many cities to think twice about bidding for future games.

The first Olympics to turn a profit were the summer games held in Los Angeles in 1984. Since local citizens voted against public financing, those games also became the first to be almost entirely privately funded. Los Angeles marked the beginnings of commercialization of the games and the development of Olympic sponsorship deals.

In 1984, organizational and economic strategies were introduced which meant the city could hold magnificent games that wouldn't bankrupt the city, 1984 showed that it was actually worthwhile to hold an Olympics.

Since then, the summer Olympics have made money or at least broken even, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Seoul in 1988 was left with a positive balance, Atlanta in 1996 and Sydney in 2000 each broke even.

The 1992 games in Barcelona are held up as a good example of secondary benefits that a financially viable Olympics can bring to a city or region. The Spanish city got a massive makeover for the games: its transportation and telecommunications systems were upgraded, it got new housing and retail centers that are still flourishing 12 years later.

Germany's 1972 Munich games were similar. Although it emerged with a deficit, after the games Munich had a new tube system and much of the city had been renovated and rebuilt.

Analysts break up Olympics economics for a city into three phases: pre-game, game and post-game. During the first phase, the city can benefit from tourism and a boost in construction activity. During the games, there are Olympic jobs to be had, revenues from tickets, sponsorshops not to mention the masses of tourists that descend on hotels, restaurants and other local businesses.

It's when it's all over that the problems come. The challenge is to use all that infrastructure effectively and learn how to deal with the massive, sudden drop-off.

Massive Olympic sports arenas often remain un- or underused. Olympic villages fall into disrepair and become headaches for the city. Most cities simply do not need all the facilities.

Even Sydney has had day-after problems. It's huge Olympic Park stands mostly silent and empty, too big to be sustained by regular sporting events alone. It will require an investment of at least €15 million to turn it into the "living precinct" its designers envision.

Analysts say the evidence is just not clear on whether hosting the Olympics will bring a city an important or lasting economic boost. Thanks to new funding strategies and revenue sources, the dark high-deficit days of Montreal will most likely remain in the past. But whether the boost gained by temporary job creation and intense publicity is long-lasting is more difficult to ascertain.

I found interesting that BBC News is showing this video on their prime-time. Something to consider for the future games in 2016.

Thursday, 12 July 2012

During the Tours I like to see the backstages of teams. How they get recover, how they warm-up/cool down and most of all what they eat.

Last year I've met Chef Sean from Team Garmin on the start of the last stage in Paris. I've continued to follow his adventures and at the moment I've been paying attention on what he's cooking for the riders. With the help of his friendly wife Olga the riders eat delicious food to perform at their highest level.

The common thing in the 3 teams and I guess in all the teams in the Tour the dinner is composed of lots of veggies, fruit, carbohydrates (lots), protein (lots) and some fat. For those who don't know they spend the whole day riding their bikes from 4 to 7 hours and burn from 2500 to 5000 calories a day.

Everyday I get an idea of the riders eat and get some ideas for my next meals. Maybe one day I'll be helping as a cook apprentice in the Tour.

When I was young I've played a lot of sports. From judo to swimming and soccer I can say I was an active kid. However after swimming I always had a big ice cream or a croissant or after judo or during school time I was eating pizzas, hamburguers and chips. I could say my only proper meal was sometimes in the school canteen and my mom's dinner.

And yes it's true I can say I was fat.

But during my teenage years I've moved to Brussels and lived there for 3 years. I've moved to the country of chocolates and waffles but surprisingly I've grown up and with this my attitude towards food and exercise have changed. I wanted to change my body so I've started running and riding my bike 3 to 4 times a week. I had a dessert once in a while and decided to eat less and better quality food.

But I was just 15 years old. I didn't know how to cook and some foods affected better my health than others.

In 2008 I've started triathlon. I've started training regularly but soon I found I could improve some things in my life. One of them was the way I ate.

I've started reading a ton of material on the internet. (I will write my next post about the amount of information available on the internet). I've read books about nutrition and how it was related with training.

First the high-carbohydrate diet, the most common diet in sports. Then the low-fat diet with little to no fat.

Then ahead of the Tour de France in 2008 I've read some interviews with Dr. Allen Alim and how he introduced a gluten-free diet to the Garmin-Team riders. They have noticed a big difference in performance so I did the same. It was hard because I thought most carbohydrates came in form of bread or pasta.

After a while I decided that I needed to change my diet (again). So I've started to read on websites and found a diet that was manly focused on fats. Small amount of carbohydrates and a bigger amount of nuts, seeds and oils.

I've learnt a lot with these diets. Most of all how to eat and how to cook. And most of all to differentiate food eaten for performance and food for everyday life. Much different.

Now I am very really careful on what I put in my body. I eat fresh, more organic, I balance my carbohydrate intake with duration and intensity of workouts and I pay a lot of attention on recovery timing.

Now I don't like to call diet. I eat to stay healthy and time my food for pre, during and after workouts. Carbohydrates are not only pasta and bread but can be rice, quinoa, oats, buckwheat, sweet potato etc. Fats come from seeds and nuts and oils (incl coconut oil, olive oil etc.) but because they are very calloric I try to restrict the amount I eat. Proteins come from fish (salmon, sardines, tuna, mackerel, sea bass, etc.) eggs and meat (horse, deer, venison, chicken, turkey, etc.) and dairy. Then the biggest amount of my daily food comes from vegetables.

Now I can cook my own food and I do it everytime I'm at home not that I don't like my mom's food but my mom's food continues to be just an high-glycemic bomb like in most of Portuguese houses with white bread, pasta and rice (only after training).

It's a balance of diets like that I can stay healthy and perform well everytime I would like to.

Like a coach said to me: "Nothing fancy, no shortcuts - simply lots of quality training balanced with appropriate recovery and high quality nutrition."

Thursday, 28 June 2012

Ahead of the Tour (on Saturday) I was surprised when I saw what this group of women are going to do.

A team of six amateur women will take on the ultimate road cycling challenge of a complete grand tour. Starting in Liège one day ahead of the pro peloton the riders will complete the entire parcours of the 2012 Tour de France arriving in Paris on the 21st of July.

In the process they’ll prove to themselves, other female cyclists, and women thinking about taking up the sport, that any bicycle dream is possible.

They’ll stay in the same hotels and endure the daily exhausting transfers that define the Tour.

All the girls have a different background but they have a passion for cycling and for these kind of hard challenges.

They have trained hard for this and tomorrow they'll begin the journey. Nothing more, nothing less than 3479 kms in 21 days!

Imagine you've booked a holiday and you want to do 3 things that if you are like me you love: cycling, culture and eating. I really enjoy riding my bike, discovering new places and people and eating good food (a lot).

Imagine you spend 1 week or 2 weeks in a trip riding by day with some Cycling riders (Pro riders Ted King or Laurens Ten Dam were at the trip in Chianti) and have a guide named João Correia. Who is he? NYTimes

You’re also supported by a full-time mechanic and soigneur (Jorge and Raul).

Everything is provided from support, food and drinks for the entire course of each ride.

Pinarello Dogma 2

Even the bike is provided. A Pro-level bike, equipped and setup with a true pro-level build, fitted to you.

So no worries about bike fees at the airport.

Spring Classics Trip - The Muur

You ride in some of the most iconic and beautiful roads because the guides have trained and raced there.

Chianti, Italy

But a trip to a new place is also a time to discover the culture, the people and their habits and all the guides at InGamba truly understand the places. Here you're not going see what tourists see, you're going to feel the places and their lifestyles to travel and discover some of the most charming places around the World like Chianti in Italy or the Pousadas in Portugal.

Dinner

And the best part: the food! Forget about tourist restaurants. You're going to savor true local cuisine, restaurants that you can't even find in guide books. Delicious regional food and good wine all included in the trip package.

My trip in September will be a really nice experience as I'm going to discover the Pousadas of Portugal - a chain of luxury, traditional or historical hotels in Portugal - and their iconic locations, ride in the Portuguese countryside and eat and drink the best Portuguese food and wine.

Saturday, 23 June 2012

The advantage of not being a student is that I can do pretty much whatever I want while I'm not working. No worries about exams or studying after classes. Time to train, to party, to read, to cook, etc.

So last night I've finished reading this book about habits. I've decided to bought it because I was curious why I was doing some activities without even thinking.

This book shows some clues about what is an habit and why we do it and like the title says "Why we do what we do and how to change". The book also gives an overview on how companies are now working to use our habit formations to sell and market products to us.

Think about something it took you a really long time to learn, like how to parallel park. At first, parallel parking was difficult and you had to devote a lot of mental energy to it. But after you grew comfortable with parallel parking, it became much easier — almost habitual, you could say.

Parallel parking, gambling, exercising, brushing teeth and every other habit-forming activity all follow the same behavioral and neurological patterns.

So how do habits form? Simple. It turns out that every habit starts with a pattern called a "habit loop," which is a three-part process. First, there's a cue, that tells the brain to go into automatic mode and let a behaviour unfold.Then there's the routine, which is the behavior itself and that's what we think about when we think about habits. The third step is the reward: something that the brain likes that helps it remember the "habit loop" in the future.

Some habits are good some don't. Like eating while watching TV or others.

So how can we change them? By simply change the routine.

A good read to understand my good and bad habits and how to change them. I'm going to apply the methods explained to change some of my life routines.

Wednesday, 13 June 2012

As for my S.P.L - sports part of life - I've decided to put a hold on my triathlon training last December. I've not stopped training completely but I was training just to be fit and healthy.

Since we are in the middle of the triathlon season in Portugal I've decided that I'll give more time to my bike training, my weakest part. My biggest goal for this year is to participate in the SkyRoad Grand Fondo in October (http://www.skyroad-grandfondo.com/index.php/pt/) and do some other smaller cycling and running events.

I'm going to save some money to buy a Powermeter (so I can train properly) and some competition wheels.

I'm now really proud to be part of this awesome project and in a team of champions: Charity Multisport

"The "Charity Multisport" is a voluntary organization, non-profitable, consisting of a multidisciplinary team focused on the sport of Triathlon, intended to meet the conditions to support the most disadvantaged communities, particularly in supporting young children and families in need through the implementation of a social project for charity called "3Hope, health, food and education" as well as supporting other projects existing external entities.

Internationally, our goal will be to travel the world, competing in the toughest endurance events in order to raise awareness and demonstrate that no obstacle is impossible. Our athletes are examples of strength, endurance and adaptability to the adversities of life, inspiring the community to achieve the same."

Friday, 1 June 2012

Life is made of experiences. That's I was in need before starting my internship in January 2012.

And when I started working at the chocolaterie I wasn't sure what I was going to get.

The first month (December) was difficult and funny at the same time: 8/9 hours standing and talking with clients but also learning how to work with chocolate and pastry.
In January both Chefs that work at the chocolaterie knew it was time for me to go. I was going to begin my internship in Economics. But they didn't know I was going to help them as much as I could outside the chocolaterie.
So from January to March, they appeared on RTP, SIC Radical (both Portuguese TV channels), magazines, the Facebook page suddenly got new likes and they made partnership deals with some cooking brands.

They even filmed this video and it appeared in some international websites:

I continued to help them in the shop on Saturdays until last week. I met a lot of people from different backgrounds, made some friends, talked hours with the clients and most of all learned different views of life.

It's not over for me. I will continue to give myself to this amazing project they have I just can't continue to be there all Saturdays.

I'm back to triathlon. As for my future job in 2 weeks time I will already know where I'm going to be for the next year, if here in Portugal or abroad.

Tuesday, 29 May 2012

After returning from the UK and finishing my Master Degree, I've decided to be part of a triathlon training group and was preparing the 2012 season while looking for a job.

Then a single afternoon with a friend changed my life. In December I've worked in a Chocolaterie in Lisbon, stopped training and got an internship that was going to start in January 2012.

So now we are in end of May: I'm almost finishing my internship (end of July), I've decided to finish working in the chocolaterie (I've met a lot of people and now I know a lot about chocolate, yes, chocolate!), I'm back to triathlon training and I'm already looking for a job (in Portugal or abroad).

Sunday, 25 March 2012

Monday, 2 January 2012

I hope you understand my last post. Yes, I have worked for a month in a chocolate factory and shop in Lisbon and I'll continue to work there on Saturdays. I'm going to follow its project as I think it has everything to succeed.

Hot Chocolate

This shop is called As Marias com Chocolate and it has the best Hot Chocolate in Lisbon in the winter months and the best Lemonade in summer. They also make sweets and candies, cakes, biscuits and milkshakes.

This was an idea of two of the best artisan confectioners of chocolate: Carmo Vasconcellos and Pedro Duarte. Both have graduated in Estoril Higher Institute of Hotel Management and Tourism and both have worked on some of the best restaurants in Lisbon like Michelin-star Porto de Santa Maria Restaurant or Bica do Sapato Restaurant.

1 year ago they started this project from scratch. No help from big companies or industries just chocolate in its purest way, all made in the shop, all artisan chocolate made with Belgian Callebaut chocolate.

The shop is situated in Mercado de Santa Clara. If you are in Lisbon or planning to come this is the place to go.